Tesla Model 3 - driving on Lyft

[gambit48]

Have you thought about wrapping the door buttons in a brighter color so people can more easily see the buttons to exit? Maybe color match to the exterior of your car if it isn't black?

 

[Skryll]

It's cool, financially it makes a bit of sense with a Prius or Corolla, but it doesn't seem to me that the depreciation hit/mileage/wear and tear is worth it on a car that is $60K.

If you went full time you would be making more than your car payments for sure. They have a $900/week guarantee in the beginning tied to some goals (doing 85 rides, rejecting less than 5% rides etc).

For me, I am just doing it as a hobby, when I want to drive around anyways, or in destination-mode when commuting to work. Yesterday I picked somebody up along the way to work, minimal detour, $15 payout which was $4 for bridge toll and $11 for the ride.

 

[Skryll]

Have you thought about wrapping the door buttons in a brighter color so people can more easily see the buttons to exit? Maybe color match to the exterior of your car if it isn't black?

I am hesitant to add anything that looks more tacky, thought of arrow stickers etc. But I think I will just keep explaining it instead.

 

[swaltner]

Why is everyone on this forum so good at math?

 

[Cheburashka]

If you went full time you would be making more than your car payments for sure. They have a $900/week guarantee in the beginning tied to some goals (doing 85 rides, rejecting less than 5% rides etc).

For me, I am just doing it as a hobby, when I want to drive around anyways, or in destination-mode when commuting to work. Yesterday I picked somebody up along the way to work, minimal detour, $15 payout which was $4 for bridge toll and $11 for the ride.

You'd gross $900 but you still would net a lot less after taxes.

Destination mode is pretty cool. The Waze app has something similar for commuters that I use sometimes. I "made" 8$ the other day by picking someone up who was along my route.

 

[jrmnet]

I wrote up my experience on MrMichaelWill's Weblog describing how people react to being picked up in Model 3 and how they don't understand the doors without explanation, how they are wowed and what I get out of it. Includes Lyft-referral code in case you want to do the same.

I like this part from that first page of your blog:

Often they say: ‘I listen to anything’ and so I challenge them a bit with bassnectar, and let them know they can change their mind anytime. Turns out they more often than not actually like it.

Sine I like bassnectar, time to check out phantogram.

 

[Skryll]

No minimum. That is exactly how I am doing it.

Feel free to use my driver-referal link ' Become a Driver' to signup and get a small boost in your first 30 (or 60? forgot) days that is shared between the two of us.

It was $1.55 for every ride you do in first 60 days, capped at $775

 

[Skryll]

You'd gross $900 but you still would net a lot less after taxes.

Destination mode is pretty cool. The Waze app has something similar for commuters that I use sometimes. I "made" 8$ the other day by picking someone up who was along my route.

$900 per week before taxes is still al lot more than my car payment per week. I wasn't aware of googles rideshare service they built around Waze, very interesting. I am trying it out today. Unlike Lyft there is no background check no dmv check etc, just install app and find somebody to drive.

 

[Cheburashka]

$900 per week before taxes is still al lot more than my car payment per week. I wasn't aware of googles rideshare service they built around Waze, very interesting. I am trying it out today. Unlike Lyft there is no background check no dmv check etc, just install app and find somebody to drive.

Yeah, the other advantage of Waze is you can really choose who you ride with based on their profile, photo, place of work, etc.. And of course there are no background checks or the like. It's true carpooling and not "ridesharing".

 

[Pkmmte]

I tried out Waze carpooling this morning thanks to @Cheburashka's suggestion. It's surprisingly convenient and fun! I'm going to start using it a lot more often now.

As @Skryll said, there's no background or DMV check. If anyone commutes to Los Angeles from San Fernando valley and vice versa and wants to ride in a Model 3, let me know!

 

[Moderatefan]

Unlike Lyft there is no background check no dmv check etc

Just imagine all the #GooglePromotesAbuse that are coming up...

 

[SageBrush]

Let's take an iPhone 6, which best numbers I've found are 1.8Ah at about 3.8v, so roughly 7Wh.

It pains me to see all that calculation when this will suffice:

Phone: 7 watts
Car: 7 - 10 kW in the city

 

[ℬête Noire]

It pains me to see all that calculation when this will suffice:

Phone: 7 watts
Car: 7 - 10 kW in the city

1) Hmmmm, I never use that gauge reading on the Bolt (turned it off). Forget it's even there. Tesla has that, somewhere I guess?
2) The phone is never operating at 7W, not even during calls (or it'd only last 1 hr), and throwing away the time component isn't valid like that.

 

[TesLou22]

I had so much fun driving model 3 that I ended up catching myself driving around an hour before work each day and figured I may make that more productive by signing up with Lyft and bring people where they want to go, which turns out to be a fun hobby that more than offsets my parking and bridge tolls.

I wrote up my experience on MrMichaelWill's Weblog describing how people react to being picked up in Model 3 and how they don't understand the doors without explanation, how they are wowed and what I get out of it. Includes Lyft-referral code in case you want to do the same.

TL;DR and additional info that came out of the discussion with people on facebook and reddit Driving a Tesla Model 3 for Lyft • r/teslamotors :

The doors are the main obstacle to making this supersmooth, but are actually a good starting point to talk about why this car is special. About anybody needed to be explained to push in the wider piece in with your thumb for the door handle to come out. Then they are wowed and love it. When wanting to exit, I have to give instructions again, that little push-button is not obivous. Also when they want to roll up or down their own window, especially in the dark, it is not obvious to anybody who hasnt been in a model 3 before. So you could say that is a design fail from a being intuitive standpoint, but seems to be quickly forgotten as the rest of the car inspires awe in all my riders.

Typical reactions to the Model 3 showing up to their Lyft request
- I must have gotten a silent upgrade, normally its Priuses and such
- wow, just noticed the all glass roof
- this car really has pickup
- this feels more like riding in BART (bay area transport electric rail train), its like gliding
- wow, that screen is bigger than on my mercedes
- thats a beautiful, amazing car
- I have never been in a tesla before
- Is this a demo ?
- Damn, I wish I didnt have to go to class and could ride longer with you, is there a way to request you specifically?

Also they love that there are two usb ports and that I provide a lighting cable for them to charge their iphone. Surprisingly they ask for permission still, seems obvious to me that thats why its there?

A few things I learned from the discussion on facebook and reddit:
- Federal tax incentive of $7500 can only be applied when at least 60% of your use of your Model 3 is personal use. So if you buy it specifically for commercial use, you may not be eligible for the tax credit. Check with your CPA to determine exactly what the situation is. If I was planning to do that I would want a black Model X with 7 seats and ride for both Lyft LUX and Uber LUX. Nonissue for me as I do this casually as a hobby.
- Personal insurance does not officially cover you when doing ride sharing unless you tell your insurance company about it and pay a little extra for being on a ride-share plan.
- Lyft insurance coverage is pretty low when you have the app running but not accepted a ride yet. Once you accept the ride, cioverage goes up from $25k to $1m until drop-off. Some people that did not upgrade their personal insurance buy a gap-insurance to cover the difference.

Other things I learned:
- destination mode is awesome to pick somebody up along the way with minimal detour, and still get paid bridge toll and enough money to pay for half your parking cost.
- Drivers like Lyft better than Uber, but if you do it professionally you probably want both.
- Driving across town to get to surge pricing (chasing the red) is usually not worth it, maybe destination mode can make it less wasteful.
- I really love meeting all those people and play music for them, learning about great songs in the process.

What I would want to improve in a Model 3 V2:
- cooled seats, especially when driving a lot in the heat. AC is great, but the back still gets a little warm over time.
- biohazard filters (elon already said no to that earlier, but I would love to evict Diesel exhaust smell from other cars that came in when I had my window open
- more interior lighting for passengers in the rear, maybe spot-lights onto the door controls
- Air suspension? I guess at that point I should be driving a Model S instead. But I love driving the Model 3 so much, because of its cornering and agility, especially between rides and without passengers.

Great post! What time do you usually leave for work in the morning?

 

[WARP 10]

I've been driving my 2011 Lexus CT200h hybrid for Lyft for about 5 months and Uber for almost 3. In most markets, it seems that driving for both is the only way to make it worthwhile.

I only drive during the day for about 15 hours a week, grossing around $1100/mo. driving about 1500 miles. The $.54/mi tax deduction leaves the taxable total at around only $300/mo. Also have to figure in both ends of SS at %15.

Signed up with Lyft and started driving 3 days later. Uber on the other hand, has implemented a much stricter background check policy (due to a bunch of problems), and took almost 3 months. From what I've heard, Lyft is now also taking much longer.

We have a model S75 and we're able to configure a model 3 right now but are waiting for the 'short-range' battery model, hopefully by the end of the year. Don't know if I'll continue to do ride sharing at that time, but probably will for a while, just for the novelty and to advertise for Tesla.

 

[ℬête Noire]

I've been driving my 2011 Lexus CT200h hybrid for Lyft for about 5 months and Uber for almost 3. In most markets, it seems that driving for both is the only way to make it worthwhile.

I only drive during the day for about 15 hours a week, grossing around $1100/mo. driving about 1500 miles. The $.54/mi tax deduction leaves the taxable total at around only $300/mo. Also have to figure in both ends of SS at %15.

Signed up with Lyft and started driving 3 days later. Uber on the other hand, has implemented a much stricter background check policy (due to a bunch of problems), and took almost 3 months. From what I've heard, Lyft is now also taking much longer.

We have a model S75 and we're able to configure a model 3 right now but are waiting for the 'short-range' battery model, hopefully by the end of the year. Don't know if I'll continue to do ride sharing at that time, but probably will for a while, just for the novelty and to advertise for Tesla.

Have you crunched any numbers to try estimate what your real costs are compared to the 54cents/mi?

 

[S'toon]

Girl Genius Online Comics

 

[WARP 10]

Have you crunched any numbers to try estimate what your real costs are compared to the 54cents/mi?

Not really. Started doing this knowing I would be getting rid of the Lexus in the near future, although it turned out to be not as near as I'd hoped. Pretty much depreciated already. Private sale bluebook is around $10k and gas is running about $120/mo. I can't believe the M3 will depreciate anywhere remotely close to $.54/mi. having experienced the S75. At some point, I believe the premium on EVs over ICE vehicles will shrink dramatically. Maintenance costs are already a fraction, given the lack of points of failure that exist on an ICE.

 

[Skryll]

I've been driving my 2011 Lexus CT200h hybrid for Lyft for about 5 months and Uber for almost 3. In most markets, it seems that driving for both is the only way to make it worthwhile.

I only drive during the day for about 15 hours a week, grossing around $1100/mo. driving about 1500 miles. The $.54/mi tax deduction leaves the taxable total at around only $300/mo. Also have to figure in both ends of SS at %15.

Signed up with Lyft and started driving 3 days later. Uber on the other hand, has implemented a much stricter background check policy (due to a bunch of problems), and took almost 3 months. From what I've heard, Lyft is now also taking much longer.

We have a model S75 and we're able to configure a model 3 right now but are waiting for the 'short-range' battery model, hopefully by the end of the year. Don't know if I'll continue to do ride sharing at that time, but probably will for a while, just for the novelty and to advertise for Tesla.

Lyft took me 3 days to get approved about two weeks ago, so still fast in California.

 

[Skryll]

Great post! What time do you usually leave for work in the morning?

My work hours are somewhat flexible but generally leaving home at 8am, commute in until 9am then have some fun until 10am when my fav street parking opens up. Priorities have changed a bit and so I am now doing most of the driving on the weekend instead, but sometimes its also as simple as using destination mode on the way to work rather than roaming on lyfts clock.